Sorry if this question has been asked if it has would you KINDLY point me in the right direction...thanks

I wanna be a firedancer for the burn.. How do I get into this, I have never done it before so is there a place to get taught or should I just start practicing.. And once I learn who do I need to talk to to apply... Are there auditions?..Thanks in advance.

In order to dance around the Man on burn night, you must become a member of one of the conclaves. The individual conclaves get to choose who is in their troupe, and then each conclave submits a video audition of a choreographed routine each year. There are no individual dancers, they are all members of conclaves, even safety.

Get some lessons, start practicing and find out who your nearest conclave is. If your skills as a performer aren't good enough at first, see if the conclave needs safeties and volunteer for that. It gets you into the Great Circle, which is pretty damn cool.

AntiM wrote:Of course, if you're in the Great Circle, you're supposed to be sober and on time.

Ah, there's the rub...

My partner does Fire Conclave. I am a rookie juggler, off and on for a long time, who has taken to juggling fire balls. Think I should have taken up the staff. Easier and safer. But, as always, safety third.

Start practicing now, regardless of instruction or tools. Play around with what you can, a non-fire staff or practice poi, juggling balls, whatever, and find what works best for you. Then, PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. You will find people willing to teach, and the way you meet them is by going to fire jams, working with anyone you can, taking opportunities. You only get better with practice.

Find a group (or groups) that is applying for performance in the great circle, ASAP, and get in contact with them. Some are going to turn you down if you are a beginner, some will be open to taking on newbies. This is just a matter of the level of skill the groups are looking for, Don't get offended. OregonRed & I have run the Oregon Fire Conclave for a few years now, & the approach we take is to welcome anyone, regardless of skill level, as long as they are willing to commit to rehearsal & practice. Not all groups are like this, but if you show some dedication, you can get in.

If you wind up joining a group, be prepared to rehearse as much as they want. There are a limited number of groups allowed into the great circle, and all of them must audition. That's why most groups start rehearsals around January. This is also why most Shins (the head of a conclave performance group) get really annoyed when people contact them a week or two before the burn wanting in.

In a way, joining a conclave is like joining a second theme camp: you get what you put in.

Red poses the query, what is your ultimate goal? To spin fire or to be one of the cool kids in BRC? Both are awesome, but the joy of fire overall should be what drives you.

Best of luck, PM me if you have any other questions.

M*A*S*H 4207th: An army of fun.I don't care what the borg says: feather-wearers will NOT be served in Rosie's Bar.Yes, I am the arbiter of doing it right or wrong. Guess which one you are!

And its so important that I'm going to stress it again: Above all you really have to be commited to performing. This means making practices and rehersals, and jumping through all the hoops, not just the fire hoops. Defenately don't show up on Aug 1st and expect people to have a spot for you in the inner circle.

Givin that you are here trying to find this out now, thats a great first step.

theCryptofishist wrote:I don't think you can advocate such blatantly self-destructive ideas on the first page of a thread.

If some person actually took that seriously, then I think they will eventually self destruct regardless of whatever comments I make.

It's not so much about that. It's about there being good information, of course, but also about making sure that people with questions feel listened to and stay on eplaya, rather than them feeling like they became our football (interesting metaphor there, Fishy, care to tell me what brought that on) and got kicked around.
Although they are going to have to pry my snark from my cold, dead teeth...

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri